Violence baked into popular culture

NEW YORK — Well aware that the television audience may be particularly sensitive, the Showtime network aired a violence disclaimer before the season finales of its dramas “Homeland” and “Dexter.” It was two days after a gunman killed 26 people in a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

But viewer sensitivity, it seems, was not an issue: That night’s “Homeland” was the highest-rated episode in the two years the series has been on the air. “Dexter” was the top-rated episode of any series in Showtime history.

That’s just one illustration of how violence and gunplay are baked into the popular culture of television, movies and video games. The National Rifle Association’s chief executive Wayne LaPierre criticized the media and the “shadow industry” of “vicious, violent video games” as playing a role in the spate of mass shootings.

While gun control and problems with the mental health system have grabbed the most attention as ways to prevent further incidents, the level of violence in entertainment has been mentioned, too.

Certainly in the world of movies, danger is a constant refrain. James Bond has a personalized gun that responds to his palm print in the currently popular “Skyfall.” This year’s top box-office-earner “The Avengers” ($623 million) features an assassin with a bow and arrow and the destruction of New York City. No. 2 is “The Dark Night Rises” ($448 million), and “The Hunger Games” is No. 3 ($408 million), with an entire premise based on violence — a survivor’s game involving youngsters.

And the top-selling video game in November was “Call of Duty: Black Ops II,” according to the NPD Group, which tracks game sales. PC Gamer magazine called the game a “Whack-a Mole, but with foreigners.” The second-ranked “Halo 4” is dark as well, and in the No. 3 spot is “Assassin’s Creed 3,” where players get points based on how quickly and creatively they kill pursuers.

The body count also piles up on television. Seven of the 10 most popular prime-time scripted series this season as rated by the Nielsen company are about crime-fighting. The series are CBS’ “NCIS,” ‘’NCIS: Los Angeles,” ‘’Person of Interest,” ‘’Criminal Minds,” ‘’Elementary” and “Vegas,” along with ABC’s “Castle.”

To date, there’s been no evidence of a network pulling the plug entirely on a series because of violent content in the wake of Newtown.

Fox is moving forward with “The Following,” a series starring Kevin Bacon that is the network’s most highly-regarded midseason premiere. Based on the first few episodes, the series depicts several murders by stabbing and mutilation.

The question for many who follow popular culture is what the cumulative impact of so much violence is on a user’s brain, particularly someone mentally vulnerable.

In a junket promoting his new movie “Django Unchained,” actor Jamie Foxx said he believes violence in films does have an impact on society. However, his director, Quentin Tarantino, batted down such concerns. “It’s a western,” he said. “Give me a break.” Associated Press movie critic David Germain described “Django Unchained” as containing “barrels of squishing, squirting blood.”

Violence in video games seems more and more realistic all the time, notes Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. Video game makers have even consulted doctors to ask what it would look like if a person was shot in the arm — how the blood would spurt out — in order to make the action seem real, he said.

Bushman understands the thirst for answers. “Violent behavior is a very complex thing,” he said, “and when it happens, you want to say what the cause is. And it’s not so simple.”

Lindsay Cross, a Fort Wayne, Ind., woman who writes for the “Mommyish” blog, said it’s important for parents to talk to children about media they are seeing.

At the same time, it’s hard to overlook the millions who enjoy these games, shows and movies and don’t turn into violent killers, she said.

“We always want there to be something to do to protect our kids,” she said, and violent media is right there as a convenient scapegoat. “It makes us feel like we’re doing something to help. It’s a natural reaction.”

Bushman conducted a study that he said showed that a person who played violent video games three days in a row showed more aggressive and hostile behavior than people who weren’t playing. It’s not certain what the impact would be on people who played these games for years because testing that “isn’t practical or ethical,” he said.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Newtown, Conn., gunman Adam Lanza was a video game devotee.

The Motion Picture Association of America expressed its outrage at the shootings and stands “ready to be part of the national conversation” about solutions, said Christopher Dodd, the organization’s chairman and CEO.

In light of the school shooting, an organization called GamerFitNation called for a one-day “cease fire,” asking video game players to refrain from playing violent video games on the one-week anniversary of the Newtown tragedy.

For whatever concern that politicians and moral leaders show about violent media content, it’s those millions of users and viewers who will ultimately decide whether gore stays on the menu, said Marty Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication.